Li Family

Biodata

Background

The Li Family had been merchants for generations, but its transformation into a commercial power occurred during the dozen or so years preceding the story. Li Ziye invented products previously unknown in the world, including perfume, glass, mirrors, and soap. Their popularity expanded the family’s businesses across Great Shang; some estimates placed its wealth above the imperial treasury’s 1.

Its financial strength did not confer equivalent political standing. As a merchant household with no one serving at court, the family remained outside the prestigious official clans. Its rapid expansion also made the emperor wary, turning its wealth into both its greatest resource and a source of danger 3 33.

Leadership and Members

• Li Baiwan — Patriarch and Li Ziye’s father; adoptive father of Li Youwei and Li Qingzhi. Reviews accounts, oversees major family decisions, and supports Ziye’s pursuit of cultivation 1 3 8.
• Li Youwei — Eldest daughter and principal business manager. Li Baiwan considers her commercial ability superior to his own; she leads the family’s negotiations in the capital 3 8 33.
• Li Qingzhi — Adopted second young master and secret master of the Misty Rain Tower. Directs covert operations and arranges protection for Li Youwei 7 8 22.
• Li Ziye — Third young master and the household’s only legitimate son. His inventions underpin its commercial rise; he also proposed establishing the Misty Rain Tower and devises strategies against court interference 1 7 9.

Businesses and Wealth

Products and Trade Secrets

• Production secrecy: Li Ziye refuses to let prospective partners participate in the family’s production processes, even in exchange for a sixty-percent profit share 27.
• Expansion strategy: When warned that competitors will eventually reproduce its techniques, Ziye argues that the family can use the intervening years to dominate distribution channels and establish lasting recognition of the Li name 27.
• Concealed inventor: Li Youwei publicly attributes the inventions to an elderly household associate who learned about them overseas, denying that Ziye created them 17.

Purchasing Power

The family’s wealth allows it to obtain rare treasures and sustain exceptionally expensive cultivation treatment 2 6.

• Medicinal supply: At Li Youwei’s direction, buyers empty Yuzhou’s hundred medicine shops of precious ingredients within four hours. Purchases spread to neighboring cities and, within ten days, across half of Great Shang 6.
• Training expenses: Li Ziye consumes hundred-year-old ginseng roots to replenish his True Qi during practice, treating valuable medicinal herbs like ordinary food 43.
• Gifts to Qin Enuo: Li Youwei presents an East Sea luminous pearl valued at one hundred thousand gold, Heavenly Silkworm Soft Armor valued at one million gold, and the priceless Fish Intestine Sword 2.

Properties

• Li residence, Yuzhou City — An enormous estate compared to an imperial compound or a small city. Its rear courtyard includes a lake, pavilion, and study; a medicine room is used for Li Ziye’s treatment 1 7.
• Yuelai Inn — An expensive family-owned inn in western Yuzhou, where Qin Enuo stays upon arriving in the city 2.
• Li Garden — The family’s foundation in the Great Shang capital, purchased by Li Youwei. It houses the capital household and serves as Li Ziye’s training base 22 25 43.

Security and Intelligence

Misty Rain Tower

The Misty Rain Tower is the family’s hidden counterweight to imperial power. Proposed by Li Ziye and led by Li Qingzhi, it operates in the shadows while the merchant household acts openly 7.

• Recruits numerous experts with the support of the Li Family’s wealth 7.
• Becomes the fastest-rising assassin organization in Great Shang over the preceding decade 7.
• Keeps Qingzhi’s leadership secret; even most household members know little about the second young master 7.
• Provides personnel for covert interference with rival factions and protection of family members 8 22.

Household Protection and Intelligence

• Hired fighters: The residence maintains fighters sufficient to handle ordinary trouble 3.
• Capital network: Despite avoiding close political entanglements, the family establishes its own eyes and ears in the capital 19.
• Personnel screening: Everyone accompanying Li Ziye to the capital—including ordinary maids—has a thoroughly investigated background 21.
• Rare-item searches: Li Qingzhi obtains the lost Pure Jun Sword for Ziye, prompting Qin Enuo to recognize the family’s formidable intelligence-gathering capability 18.
• Specialist assistance: Hongzhu, a poison expert working under Qingzhi’s orders, disguises Yin Kuang so he can infiltrate the Yin Clan 18 19.

History and Major Events

Securing Qin Enuo’s Tutelage

Li Baiwan arranges for Zhang Lata to lend credibility to stories portraying Li Ziye as a peerless sword prodigy. The rumors attract Qin Enuo to Yuzhou, while lavish gifts help secure favorable treatment during her disciple-selection trials 1 2 3.

After accepting Ziye, Qin Enuo discovers that all eight of his meridians are blocked. Li Youwei agrees to fund the medicinal treatment needed to force them open, placing her brother’s ambition above the expense 6. Ziye himself sees producing a Sword Immortal as a way to improve the family’s position against the court 8.

Imperial Pressure and Entry into the Capital

For two years, the court suppresses the family’s businesses to curb their expansion and create an opening for imperial involvement. Mu Yao presents three prospective partners—the Zhangsun Family, Merchant Alliance, and Yin Family Bank—all connected to the court 7.

Rather than accept their terms outright, the family decides to make the three compete for a single partnership. Li Youwei travels to the capital, with Li Qingzhi following secretly to protect her and arrange covert interference between the competing powers 7 8 9.

In the capital, Chen Yifei repeatedly attempts to force Li Youwei into marriage. Qingzhi’s experts prevent an abduction, and Li Ziye subsequently arrives at Li Garden and throws Chen out after another confrontation 22.

Partnership Negotiations

Seeking Public Protection

When asked to answer the Divine Oracle Hall’s three questions, Li Ziye initially refuses, fearing that further fame will expose the family to more jealousy and covert attacks. He eventually agrees after pressure involving the Water-Fire Pearl needed for his sword, also acknowledging that becoming a public hero could make the court more cautious about acting against his household 49.

External Relationships

• Great Shang imperial court — Seeks access to the family’s businesses through politically connected commercial partners. The family views this as an attempt to dismantle it without open warfare 7 24.
• Mu Yao — Imperial intermediary and calculating rival. His recommended Merchant Alliance and Yin Family Bank also have close ties to his own faction 7 17.
• Zhangsun Family — Prospective rival turned accepted business partner. Its backing from the empress provides access to resources the Li Family cannot easily obtain directly 26 40.
• Merchant Alliance and Yin Family Bank — Existing business contacts and competing partnership candidates whose rivalry the Li Family deliberately exploits 7 34.
• Qin Enuo — Li Ziye’s master, whose teaching and treatment support the household’s hope of producing a Sword Immortal 6 8.
• Zhang Lata — Assists with the initial prodigy rumors, Ziye’s treatment, and household protection. He initially hesitates to accept a formal position as an honored retainer 1 3 22 32.
• Bai Wangyu and the Confucian School — Bai resides at Li Garden, trains Ziye, and lends him valuable perceived political backing. Kong Qiu separately instructs Bai to protect Ziye from hidden attacks 25 26 40.